How low can Lake Okeechobee go? Let's find out | Our view

Scientists have discovered a link between blooms of cyanobacteria - blue-green algae - like the kind seen on lakes and rivers in Florida - with Alzheimers and ALS disease. ED KILLER/TCPALM
Wochit

Buy Photo

Algae tainted water from the C-44 canal churns through one of two open flood gates at the St. Lucie Lock & Dam in Martin County on Friday, July 13, 2018, to lower the canal level shortly before water discharges began from Lake Okeechobee.(Photo11: ERIC HASERT/TCPALM)Buy Photo

But U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Palm City, begs to differ. And given the damage the algae is doing to our environment and economy, his proposal — to keep Lake O at significantly lower levels during the winter months and reduce the need for summer discharges — must be thoroughly vetted.

And even if his proposal could be detrimental to the lake, that damage must be measured against the harm that's already being inflicted — upon us.

Mast, who won the GOP primary Tuesday, has suggested taking Lake O as low as 8 feet during the winter months. That, he said, would give the corps ample storage during the summer, when it likes to keep lake levels at a maximum of 12 feet, 6 inches.

On the surface it seems a simple proposal. It's anything but.

Buy Photo

The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers met with Congressman Brian Mast at Stuart City Hall on Friday, August 17, 2018, for a public meeting to brief him on how Lake Okeechobee is managed.(Photo11: ERIC HASERT/TCPALM)

The corps has its marching orders: The Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule dictates how the agency manages lake levels.

"I can't just take the book and throw it out the window," said Col. Jason A. Kirk, corps commander for Florida, at that Aug. 17 meeting.

True. But the regulation schedule can be changed by Congress. A more daunting hurdle is the potential impact of taking the lake lower.

The South Florida Water Management District has created an infographic detailing how much and what type of problems are created as the water level diminishes. Between 9.5 and 10.5 feet, there's an "increased risk of permanently compromising freshwater in wellfields due to saltwater intrusion"; the city of Okeechobee's withdrawal for water supply needs is also compromised.

Between 9.5 and 8 feet, according to the graphic, the Everglades is at a high risk for muck fire, and stormwater treatment areas would no longer receive water to sustain wetland plants that remove pollutants from the water, among other impacts.

Asked whether it was OK to risk such outcomes, Mast replied: "If there's going to be give and take, there has to be give and take on both sides. You can't manage Lake O to save its environment if you're destroying the St. Lucie River."

We're not content to rely on the water management district's assessment; we believe more study of Mast's proposal is needed, as is a frank public discussion upon its completion.

For he is correct in one important respect: While no one wants to inflict damage on the lake or those who depend upon it, those of us along the St. Lucie — and the Caloosahatchee River to the west of the lake — have borne the lion's share of this burden for far too long.

We cannot continue to sacrifice so much while others don't sacrifice anything — or very little.

Choices might need to be made. And it's important to weigh those choices so that, collectively, we can make the most equitable decision for everyone.

Editorials of Treasure Coast Newspapers/TCPalm are decided collectively by its Editorial Board. To respond to this editorial in a letter to the editor, email up to 300 words to TCNLetters@TCPalm.com.